VorwurfvsVorwürfeConfusable pair

Which to use

“Vorwurf” and “Vorwürfe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,168
“Vorwurf” frequency rank
#5,041
“Vorwürfe” frequency rank
9209
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vorwurf Vorwürfe
Definition Äußerung, die jemanden beschuldigt oder jemandem Vorhaltungen macht Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Vorwurf

Where the eye mixes Vorwurf and Vorwürfe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Vorwurf runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against Vorwürfe's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Vorwurf
8 ch
Vorwürfe

Visual trap between Vorwurf and Vorwürfe

A purely visual mix-up. Vorwurf ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvʊʁf]) and Vorwürfe ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvʏʁfə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vorwurf is recorded at frequency rank #4,168, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvʊʁf]. Vorwürfe is at rank #5,041, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvʏʁfə].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 9209, this pair ranks #1,980,969 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vorwurf vs Vorwürfe

Shared letters: forvw. Private to "Vorwurf": u. Private to "Vorwürfe": eü.

"Vorwurf" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Vorwürfe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vorwurf ← ovrwurf · vorrwurf · voruwrf · vorwruf · vorwufr · vorwurff · vorwurrf · vorwwurf

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Vorwurf" and "Vorwürfe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvʊʁf] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvʏʁfə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Vorwurf" or "Vorwürfe"?
"Vorwurf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,168 in our German list, against #5,041 for "Vorwürfe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorwurf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorwürfe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,980,969 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vorwurf" and "Vorwürfe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwarf vs Vorwurf". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,980,969 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list